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New Member Introduction
Hello, a very quick introduction, im Ryan from New Zealand (a long way from the UK i know) my background originally was in computer animation mostly for television commercials etc, a year or so back I went freelance with my animation and at the same time started working pretty much fulltime on the computer at a friends of mine graphics business, the business deals mostly with props for television and movie (i.e. signs, car graphics and all the bits you see on your TV in movies and ads) recently the person who i worked with / owned the business passed away from cancer 🙁 . and to my complete astonishment left all the equipment, and contracts to me. As I did all the computer and paperwork related stuff and design I have been able to keep things going as they used to be without too much disturbance, the work volume is quite low but always pays well, he used to refuse anything except movie / TV props, I’m keen to get into all aspects of sign writing. As he used to do all the installs and substrate applications, I’ve been having to learn very fast by myself about all these aspects (oh the wasted vinyl and reprints I’ve seen over the last month or so, yesterday for example it was 4 meters of cast in the bin from a botched install, looked like a pikelet there was so many bubbles)… My plan is to struggle on for a month or so more like this then get in a fulltime person to help installing and applications, delivery and pickups etc. (i thought i could handle it all by myself but after a few real good messed up applications I’ve become quite un-confident about my abilities as an installer) So you will see me posting lots of simple or stupid questions over the next few months, I’ve got a very good handle over the technical and business management side of things but when it comes to the workshop I’m in a flat spin at the moment, but very keen to learn and have tonnes of patience.. I’m booked in with Avery for a vinyl application two day course which starts in two months, which I’m really hoping will have some value..
Cheers and you will no doubt be hearing from me..
Ryan
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11 Replies
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Hi Ryan
Welcome to the boardsKeep the questions coming, we know how difficult things can be struggling on your own
Best Wishes with your venture 😀
John
Don’t forget your mugshot when u can 🙂
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Hi Ryan.
I dislike applying vynull too.
But there are a lot of good folks who will help.
And the Avery course can’t hurt!
Don’t give up.
Love….Jill 😉 -
hi ryan!! 😀
welcome aboard the best place around for miles……… 😛 😛
Nik
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hi ryan
welcome aboard mate, i know were your coming from mate. we all have been there. so dont hesitate to ask ask ask.. thats what the sites about after all.. 😉
courses are always good to go on, down side is they are pricey if just starting out. always best to practice practice practice with any old scrap of vinyl you have lying around. practice on foamex then move onto painted alloy or perspex,, these are more difficilt to apply to..
once you have a feel for it you will benifit more from your wrap course..
you maybe jumping in kinda early for a course like this.. find your feet first mate.
also, why a cast?
casts tend to be harder to apply due to strong adhesion and thin vinyl etc.. they can be a dream for a pro fitter but a headache of just practicing.
try a decent quality calander vinyl, mactac 5-7 & the like. if this is still to hard apply with a good application fluid until you confidense picks up. rapid-tac 2 is the best on the go for wet apps. but always keep in mind to work towards applying dry. 😉welcome mate 😉
(p.s. i know some of the older demos have missing images, these will be in place asap. im still loading this and that in the backgriound) 😳
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Hi Ryan – and welcome
If you’re not used to applying vinyl I would suggest you apply it wet to begin with. Use a very small amount of washing up liquid in water and spray on to the surface you are applying vinyl to.
This isn’t the best way to do it – but it is the easiest way. The downside is you can’t take the application tape off straight away – but it is very forgiving and allows you to eliminate most of the bubbles.
Once you become more proficient it’s best (and quicker) to apply dry. It was only after 6 years of applying wet that I was finally convinced (by Rob) that dry was better
Just my opinion 😕
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thanks Robert!! the course was a freebe from our supplier, but i think they only usually charge $75 a day anyway so not too bad.. its too soon i realize but they only run this every 6 months (small country). Was using the cast because it was the only vinyl in the colour I needed, as most our stuff only needs to last a few hours for filming and usually never gets left outside we normally use cheap vinyls. most the stuff i have here is avery 700 H.P, Ive never tried a wet install, as i know the downsides to doing these and the otherguy hated them, but will grab some app fluid today for praticing and see how i get along with that.. (theres only two signwriting suppliers here, one sells avery and the other sells oracal, thats about the choices without ordering from overseas.)
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Hi Ryan 😀
Welcome aboard :welcome:
Bit of an exciting and stressful time for you …. just keep going and It will all work out fine, everyone makes mistakes no one is perfect … we have made our fair share and still do 😉
Ask as many questions as you like no matter how trivial or silly you might think they are ….. and everyone is more than willing to help or advise where they can!
Carrie & Stephen 😛
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Hey Judd…
Interesting route into the business, though of course not the best circumstances in which to be thrown in head first!
It seems we have vaguely similar experience, though I have managed to maintain a primarily signage based focus. I too did advertisement animation, though my work was more geared toward a digital dynamic signage broadcast environment. We have yet to realise the full impact of this media on the whole industry I believe.
Anyways, welcome to these brilliant boards, and best of luck with your new ventures. Maybe we can catch up and I can say a personal “hello” when I head your way next year!
Keith
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Hang in there Ryan.
I will make you an offer if you wish to take me up on it.
As you are just over the water in New Zealand, if you are ever over here in Australia, or more precisely, Queensland, I’d be happy to give you hands on training for free.
The advice here on these boards is very good, by a lot of like minded professionals who have the same goals in mind, that is to help each other.
I had to teach myself too, which is too long a story, but I had very very few people that were willing to help me a decade or so ago.
Working on your own, use the hinge method with masking tape. For a beginner, this is the easiest step. Either wet or dry, this step is as good as having a second set of hands.
Definately, apply wet – but never apply wet to glass. It will make the job harder than you care to imagine.
The advice here of soap is good, but Spandex in NZ probably sell a ‘lube’ like they do here in OZ. It is better than soap because it is properly measured, and there is no thinking required, if you know what I mean. My preference is Oracal, and they also sell a ‘lube’ in a cencentrate form.
Dry is the ideal, but that will come in time and confidence.
One thing to remember is that some glues are water based (usually the cheaper grades), and some solvent based. You have temperature concerns in NZ which will alter the sticking characteristcs of using water based products, wet. It will take time to work these out, but by an large, a wet application is better for you to build up confidence in the process, before embarking on more difficult challenges.
I know the chances that you’ll be in Qld is probably remote, but I am happy to extend the offer if, and when, you want to take it up.
Cheers
Shane -
Hi Ryan
Sorry to be a bit belated in adding my welcome.
I spent 24 years in NZ, prior to returning here to the UK 7 years ago. Most of my residence was in Wellington or in Motueka (near Nelson in SI). My two sons are still in Wellington, so I aam kept in touch with AoTearoa.
I aam self-taught too, so I echo what the others have already said, practise makes perfect.
All the very best
Alan
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in addition to my last email, i just wanted to thank everyone for replying and being so helpful and friendly.. im really blown away and look forward to talking and hearing what you all have to say.. I took some advise from here on Friday “practice, practice, practice” anyway i took home the entire off-cut box and some large strips of different vinyls, brought some application fluid and spent pretty much the entire weekend in my garage practicing vinyl installation on everything i could get my hands on, and around 5pm Sunday, i got my first large flawless piece of vinyl installed, i was using my brothers race car to practice on as this point as its just been painted and has nothing on there at the moment, to say i was quite excited when i pulled off that app-tape and saw there was no bubbles would be an understatement (i was jumping around at this stage).. what really helped was sitting down and drawing myself a picture of how the vinyl was being applied and thinking about this and how i would have to apply it keeping all the air pushed out, also doing a heap of playing around wet helped a great deal as it was far more forgiving and i didn’t spend the entire time trying to remove crinkled up vinyl.. I can now see why people hate installing vinyl wet,. it took ages to stick properly, made a mess of the place, the app-tape came away from the glue at some places and was a real pain to clean up, but in saying that Appling wet really got my confidence up and got my dry installation technique a great deal better. I even played around with stretching the vinyl with a heat gun into the centre recess on the side of the car (thanks to a some messages and a video i watched from here) after learning that too much heat is very bad especially when there’s air trapped underneath, i even managed to get this to look nice… ive got a lot more learning to do but im 1000 times more confident now (that’s probably a bad thing) thanks again and will keep everyone updated on my progress… Todays mission is to service a badly neglected plotter thats so covered in dust and glue residue that its amazing that its still working.
Ryan
(of no fingernails left, and if i smell anymore meths this week im going to vomit)
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